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Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and statin treatment

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is frequently associated with hypercholesterolemia and with an increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Statins are safe in PBC patients(1)

A trial investigating treatment with low-dose atorvastatin for 12 months was found to be safe in early-stage PBC

  • the statin treatment was shown to effectively reduce total cholesterol, LDL-C, LDL triglycerides, and improve vascular function, without affecting cholestasis progression. Therefore, statin therapy should be considered in PBC patients with additional risk factors for cardiovascular disease
  • no statistical differences in liver enzymes were observed except a transient increase of alkaline phosphatase

Statins in modulation of disease:

  • in a small study (3) simvastatin significantly (P<0.05) reduced serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase, glutamyltransferase, and immunoglobulin M
    • the study authors stated that '..The lipid lowering potency of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor simvastatin was confirmed in hypercholesterolemic patients with PBC. The drug might also prove useful as modulator of cholestasis and of immune response in this disease...'

Reference:


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